The Broken Internal Link Guide: Find and Fix Links on Your Website

Internal links do more than connect pages—they shape how users and search engines interact with your website. They structure content, influence user flow, and signal relationships between pages. When these links break, the ripple effects are significant: users hit dead ends, search engines misinterpret your site, and your SEO efforts take a hit.

This guide dives straight into the heart of the issue: how to identify and resolve broken internal links. We’ll uncover the root causes, explore their impact, and provide actionable solutions to maintain a well-functioning website that delivers a seamless experience and preserves your SEO momentum.

Main Takeaways From This Article:

• Broken internal links point to non-existent pages that degrade user experience, harm your SEO efforts, and weaken overall site health.
• You can find broken links manually through individual checks or tools like Google Search Console, which are designed to scan both internal and external links on websites. 
• Effectively repairing broken links involves compiling a list of issues, choosing the right method to address them, implementing fixes, and testing outcomes.
• Preventative measures include using consistent URL structures, conducting regular audits, and leveraging LinkScout to automate internal linking and refresh outdated links to maintain an optimized structure.

What Are Broken Internal Links?

Broken internal links, also known as dead links, are hyperlinks on your website that point to pages that no longer exist. Clicking on them leads users to an error page (often a 404 Not Found page), which can be frustrating as it hinders navigation and interrupts a smooth user experience. Search engine crawlers may also have difficulty indexing your website if they encounter numerous broken internal links.

Common Causes of Broken Internal Links

Several factors can contribute to broken internal links:

• Deleted or Moved Pages: Content undergoes changes, and sometimes, pages need to be deleted. If you remove a page without updating the internal links pointing to it, you create a broken link and, thus, a broken page. Similarly, moving a page to a new location without revising the associated links will lead to a dead end.
• Changed URLs or Permalink Structure: The structure of your website's URLs, known as permalinks, can be altered for various reasons. This often happens during website redesigns or migrations. However, if you change URLs without updating internal links referencing them, you'll end up with broken pages.
• Misspelled or Incorrect URLs: Human error plays a role, too. Typos or mistakes when manually creating internal links can result in broken links directing visitors to non-existent pages.
• Restructured or Redesigned Site: Major website overhauls can lead to significant changes in the overall structure. During redesigns, internal links can become outdated if the page hierarchy is reorganized without updating the linking structure.
• Expired Content or Outdated Resources: Certain content on your website might have a limited lifespan and need to be removed eventually. When this happens, it's crucial to update any internal links that reference outdated content. Otherwise, they'll become broken links.
• Improper Redirects: Redirects send users from an old URL to a new one. Implementing redirects incorrectly can lead to users being directed to the wrong pages or encountering errors.

Why Broken Internal Links Hurt Your Website

Broken internal links can have a negative impact on your website, as they:

Disrupt User Experience

Broken internal links can damage your brand perception and lead visitors to abandon your site. This is because clicking on a link with the expectation of accessing valuable information and landing on an error page instead leads to a dead end, which can be frustrating and hinder users' ability to find the information they seek.

Damage SEO Performance

Search engines like Google crawl your website using links to understand the structure and content hierarchy. Broken internal links can hinder this process, making it difficult for search engines to properly index your pages. This can negatively impact your website's ranking in search results.

Weaken Site Health

A high number of broken internal links can be a sign of a poorly maintained website. This can damage your overall website health and reflect poorly on your brand image. It's important to find and fix broken links as soon as possible.

How to Find a Broken Link on Your Website

There are two primary methods to locate broken internal links on your website:

Find Broken Internal Links Manually

For smaller websites, manual methods can be used to locate broken internal links. This process requires attention to detail and may be impractical for larger or more complex websites.

Check Links Individually

This method involves manually clicking on each internal link to ensure it directs users to the correct page. While straightforward, it is highly time-consuming and often misses broken links on deeper pages, making it best suited for simpler websites.

Using Google Search Console

Google Search Console offers a limited reporting feature for identifying broken internal links. You can access the "Crawl Errors" section to view links flagged by Googlebot as non-existent. However, this report may not be comprehensive and may miss some broken links.

Find Broken Internal Links Automatically With LinkScout

As explained above, finding broken internal links manually can be tedious. An effective way to tackle the process is by using an automated tool. Automated crosslinking tools streamline the process by scanning your entire website and identifying and fixing broken links in a fraction of the time it would take to check them manually. These tools often provide detailed reports, making it easier to prioritize which issues to tackle first.

Among the tools available, LinkScout leads the charge due to its efficient and user-friendly interface. Offering automated internal link detection and comprehensive reports, this tool simplifies the task of maintaining a healthy internal link structure on your website. Its capability to detect and manage broken links automatically ensures that your website remains competitive in search results. 

How to Fix Broken Internal Links: Step-by-Step Guide

Now, let's understand the step-by-step approach to fixing broken internal links:

Step 1: Compile a List of Broken Links

Broken internal links can harm your website's performance, making identification the first critical step toward resolution. Begin by creating a thorough list of all broken links to ensure a seamless user experience is restored.

• Use LinkScout’s Reports: Run a LinkScout scan to identify all broken internal links on your website and generate detailed reports that include the URL of all the broken links, their location on the site, and their associated HTTP status codes that can help you understand the nature of the underlying issue.
• Organize and Prioritize: Once you have a list of broken links, it's important to organize and prioritize them based on their impact on your website. Categorize links into three priorities: High-priority (links found in the main navigation or footers), medium-priority (links in content like blog posts), and low-priority (less visible links).

Step 2: Decide on a Method

Once you've identified the broken links, you'll need to decide on the best course of action to fix them. Here are the three primary methods:

• Redirect to a Relevant Page: Use a 301 redirect to permanently redirect users from the broken page to a relevant page on your website. This is the preferred method when the content has been moved to a new URL. Use a 302 redirect for temporary redirects, such as when a page is under construction or being updated. 
• Update the Link to the Correct URL: If the broken link points to a page that still exists but has a different URL, simply update the link to the correct URL. 
• Remove the Link Entirely: If the link is no longer relevant or valuable, the best option is to remove the link altogether. 

Step 3: Implement Fixes

Once you've determined the best course of action for each broken link, it's time to implement the fixes. Here are two common methods:

• Using CMS or HTML Editor: For platforms like WordPress, Shopify, or Wix, use the built-in link editor to update or remove broken links.
• Automating Redirects: Many CMS platforms offer plugins or built-in tools to manage URL redirects. Use these to redirect broken links to relevant pages.
• Manual Updates: For custom-built websites, you may need to manually update links within the site’s code or content management system.

Step 4: Test the Fixes

After implementing the fixes, it's crucial to test your website to ensure that all broken links have been resolved. Consider one or both of these two methods:

• Re-Scan the Site Using LinkScout: Run another scan with LinkScout to identify any remaining broken links. This will help you catch any errors that may have been missed during the manual fixing process.
• Manual Spot Checks: Conduct manual checks to verify that the fixes have been implemented correctly. Click on links throughout your website to ensure they lead to the correct pages. Use browser developer tools to inspect the HTML code and verify that the links are pointing to the correct URLs.

Best Practices to Prevent Broken Internal Links

To prevent future broken link issues, it's essential to adopt some best practices:

Use Consistent URL Structures

When URLs are predictable and easy to understand, users can navigate your website more efficiently, and search engines can crawl and index your content more easily.

Here are some actionable tips to ensure consistency in your site's URL structure:

• Incorporate relevant and descriptive keywords into your URLs to improve search engine visibility.
• Avoid dynamic URLs and keep them simple and static whenever possible.
• Use hyphens to separate words. Hyphens improve readability and help search engines understand the structure of your URLs.

Regularly Audit Links

Regularly auditing your website's internal links helps identify and fix broken links before they negatively impact your website's performance. This proactive approach saves you time and effort in the long run.

Here's how you can conduct regular audits:

• Set up a recurring schedule for link audits, such as quarterly or semi-annually.
• Prioritize fixing links that appear in your navigation menu, footer, and other high-traffic areas.
• When fixing broken links, redirect users to relevant content or create 404 error pages with helpful information.

Update Links With Content Changes

Whenever you change the content of your website, such as moving, deleting, or renaming pages, it's important to update all internal links that point to those pages to prevent broken links and a negative user experience.

Here's how to implement this practice:

• Use a CMS with built-in linking features. Many CMS platforms offer tools to automatically update links when content is moved or deleted.
• Audit your web content regularly. Identify outdated or irrelevant content and remove or update it as needed.
• After making changes to your website's content, test all links to ensure they are working correctly.

Leverage LinkScout for Ongoing Maintenance

LinkScout is a powerful tool for maintaining a healthy internal linking structure. It automates the process of optimizing internal links, saving you time and effort.

Here’s how to maximize the outcomes using this tool:

• Schedule regular scans to identify new internal linking opportunities and refresh outdated links.
• Use LinkScout’s reports to analyze your internal linking structure and implement improvements based on keyword relevance and content connectivity.
• Streamline your workflow with LinkScout’s user-friendly interface to manage and enhance your internal link strategy efficiently.

Why LinkScout Is Essential for Managing Broken Internal Links

The answer is simple: to save time and effort. With a full suite of features designed specifically to streamline the internal link management process, LinkScout helps you effortlessly optimize your website’s internal linking structure. Here's how:

Automated Link Detection

With LinkScout, you don’t have to spend hours manually managing your internal linking strategy. The tool automatically scans your website to identify new internal linking opportunities and refresh outdated links. You can schedule regular scans to ensure your internal link structure remains optimized and relevant over time.

Detailed Reporting and Prioritization

The tool provides comprehensive reports that include:

• The URL of the broken link.
• The location of the broken link on your website.
• The HTTP status code (e.g., 404 Not Found).
• Anchor text used for the broken link.
• Additional details that can help you understand the context of the broken link.

These reports allow you to prioritize fixes based on the impact of the broken link. For example, you can focus on fixing broken links that appear in your main navigation menu or on all the pages that drive high traffic first.

Ease of Integration

LinkScout is designed to work seamlessly with popular CMS platforms like WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, and HubSpot so you can enhance your internal linking strategy in your existing website infrastructure. By embedding a single line of code, you can quickly set up and start optimizing your internal links.

Take Control of Your Internal Links With LinkScout

LinkScout puts you in full control of your website’s internal linking with powerful automation and insights. Identify and implement links effortlessly, access detailed reports on opportunities, and integrate seamlessly with your CMS—all while saving time and enhancing your site’s performance.

With LinkScout, you can:

• Optimize your linking structure to maintain website health.
• Boost SEO results with smarter internal linking.
• Improve navigation for a seamless user experience.
• Streamline your workflow with automated tools.

Take the guesswork out of internal linking. Sign up for a free trial today and see the difference LinkScout makes.

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